


Avoidance Techniques

by Carerra_os



Series: Harringrove Tumblr Stories [44]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Drinking, Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:20:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26668105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carerra_os/pseuds/Carerra_os
Summary: Billy keeps getting drunk at frat parties, and Steve is his roommate who keeps getting called to pick him up.-“You like her better than me?” Billy asks, Steve can hear the pout in his voice, can feel it against his skin when Billy tucks his face in again.“I mean she doesn’t get drunk and insist I’m the only one who can bring her home, so” Steve shrugs, he does not like her more, does not really know her but he totally deserves a little fun at Billy’s expense for all the trouble Billy causes him.“You’re hurting my feelings pretty boy, I’m a little in love with you.” Billy says and Steve’s stomach flips, but Billy is drunk and Steve knows he does not mean it, not really.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Series: Harringrove Tumblr Stories [44]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1673560
Comments: 14
Kudos: 209





	Avoidance Techniques

**Author's Note:**

> # 42 “For the hundredth time, I’m not your babysitter.”

**Avoidance Techniques**

Steve is trying really hard to focus on his paper, it is due in just a few short hours when his phone goes off with a text from one of the resident frat boys of a house Steve choses to never remember. Steve groans all of the members and the pledges have his number by now because his idiot roommate is a member. Who without fail always ends up needing to be taken care of and Steve always gets called to do it. 

Literally every time, he knew this was going to happen, had practically begged Billy not to do this to him tonight. He is not like Billy. This is hard for him, it takes him forever to get through the required reading and sometimes he gets so lost or behind that he ends up crying. He cannot afford all of these distractions, and Billy is a constant distraction.

Steve still grabs his phone, pulls on his shoes and his coat and heads out the door twirling the key ring on his finger as he makes the trek across campus. Feeling waring emotions at the prospect of a drunk Billy, the only time they really interact anymore is when Billy is drunk, most of the time it is like he is avoiding Steve. Which he definitely is, Steve is not an idiot, guy only hits on him drunk, he is clearly still in the closet, which is part of the reason Steve always ignores his flirtations, the other part is because Billy is always completely plastered when he starts flirting with Steve and Steve would never take advantage of that kind of situation.

“Pretty Boy!” Billy shouts when Steve walks in the door, the fraternity member left watching Billy giving him a grateful look before abandoning his post next to Billy on the couch. “You came for me.” Billy says cheerfully words a slur as he stands wobbling. Steve waits next to the door for Billy to get to him, knows Billy will not fall, no matter how much it looks like he is about to, the only time Steve has actually seen him fall drunk or otherwise is when he is pushed. Usually by Steve who is often trying to get him to just go to bed, so he only ever ends up falling into Steve's bed, despite his perfectly good bed on the other side of their room, because drunk Billy always steals Steve’s bed.

Billy reaches him and claps a hand on his shoulder before leaning heavily against him, hand sliding until it is pressing against Steve’s collarbone, arm hooked around his neck. “Let's get back to the dorm, I still have to finish my paper.” Steve says turning and walking out the door Billy keeping pace, tucking his face in against Steve, nose right under his ear.

“You always smell so good, pretty boy.” Billy whispers and Steve feels his face heat up.

“Yeah you say that every time.” Steve heaves a sigh, waving at a woman from his child psychology class. Steve rolls his eyes as Billy takes notice and glares at her arm curling tighter around Steve. “Knock it off Billy.” Steve huffs, elbowing him lightly to draw his attention away from the woman clearly becoming uncomfortable under the look.

“You like her better than me?” Billy asks, Steve can hear the pout in his voice, can feel it against his skin when Billy tucks his face in again.

“I mean she doesn’t get drunk and insist I’m the only one who can bring her home, so” Steve shrugs, he does not like her more, does not really know her but he totally deserves a little fun at Billy’s expense for all the trouble Billy causes him.

“You’re hurting my feelings pretty boy, I’m a little in love with you.” Billy says and Steve’s stomach flips, but Billy is drunk and Steve knows he does not mean it, not really.

“Sure Billy.” Steve pats Billy’s hand over his chest.

Billy huffs against his skin and starts talking. “You’re the prettiest man I’ve ever seen,” Billy ignores the scoff that Steve lets out. “The things I want to do to you, always want to be around you,” Billy keeps ignoring Steve’s scoffs, hands tightening around him as Steve lets them into their dorm room. “You work so hard, and yet you still take care of me. Always there when I need you, you’re too sweet to me.” Billy says pressing closer when Steve tries to shrug him off. “There are so many things-

Steve cuts Billy off with a hand against his mouth before he can start getting into the sexual stuff, it is bad enough that he gets all hot and gooey when Billy is saying sweet shit, he does not need to hear the sexual stuff adding fuel to the fire that already plagues him. Steve is just glad that Billy sleeps real fucking heavy once he passes out, so Steve can get off in peace without worrying about Billy hearing him.

“I have to work on my paper, go to bed.” Steve says even though he knows Billy is not going to listen right away, he never does, but at least Billy quiets down, if only for a little bit, and lets him go. Steve goes right to his desk trying to ignore Billy puttering around the room as he gets to work. 

The almost quiet lasts nearly twenty minutes before Billy breaks it. “Pretty boy, I want a snack.” Billy whines draping himself over Steve’s shoulders.

“For the hundredth time, I’m not your babysitter!” Steve hisses, he really, really needs to finish this paper and Billy does this every time. Steve is always babysitting him, and the heat of Billy against his back is too distracting, Billy is just distracting in general. 

“You know, if you were I know some things we could do.” Billy says and Steve can practically feel him waggling his eyebrows.

Steve rolls his eyes, ignoring the flush of his cheeks as he turns and pushes Billy away, watches as Billy stumbles back landing on his bed. Steve tries to ignore the implication, the want in his belly because lusting after his closeted roommate is so, so stupid. Billy is pouting as Steve fishes a bag of chips from his drawer and tosses them at him, grinning widely in a way that warms Steve’s gut further when he catches them. “Eat those and go to bed.” Steve says turning back to his paper and dutifully ignoring Billy.

Shortly after the crinkling of the chip bag tapers off, Steve hears Billy shift from his bed, hears his clothes hitting the floor before he hears the creak of his own bed as Billy takes it. 

An hour later when Steve is finally done with his paper and has sent it off, he sighs as he turns to find Billy spread out over his bed, snoring, drooling onto Steve’s pillow, only the corner of the blanket keeping any sort of modesty intact. He sighs again as he moves around the room getting ready for bed, shaking the blanket out and brushing off the remaining crumbs from Billy's bed. He wants his pillow, and he is defiantly a little sulky over it as he slips into Billy’s bed. The entire bed reeks of Billy and Steve knows he is going to wake up hard even if he gets off now, and he is going to have to wash his own bedding because otherwise he will never get Billy out of his nose. 

-

Billy wakes wrapped around Steve’s pillow and curses, he is always doing this, has been dutifully trying to avoid his roommate so as not to hit on him but every time without fail he gets drunk and wakes up in Steve’s bed. Sometimes Steve is still passed out in his, other times he is already gone for the day, Billy glances over and finds him absent. Billy should not have gotten drunk last night, feels shitty because he knows Steve was working on a paper, and he knows he probably interrupted that. He hopes he did not say anything embarrassing. 

Billy spies the bottle of water and the pain relievers on the edge of the little nightstand covered in more of Steve's book and his gut goes fluttery. Things would be so much easier if he was not in love with his very straight roommate, Billy has met his ex, Nancy, even kind of likes her when she is not in reporter mode. Has heard the stories from her about Steve’s past when they all went drinking one night before Billy was in too deep, Steve dragging Billy off before Nancy could tell him all of them, which was both a blessing and annoying. 

Billy downs the whole bottle before pressing his face against Steve’s pillow, the one he has definitely seen Steve rut against when he thinks Billy is sleeping. It smells like the both of them, Steve’s fancy shampoos and creams, and the cologne Billy wears. Billy does not pull his face from the pillow until his alarm goes off, and he figures he might as well get dressed and brush his teeth, his mouth feels terrible.

Billy is lounging on his own bed, a textbook pushed to the end nearly falling off the edge and a horror book in his hand as Steve comes in looking nervous. Billy feels his gut sour, worries he really did step in it last night. “I’m going to request a room change.” Steve broaches without any preamble. 

Billy’s stomach rolls with worry sure he did something inappropriate, or maybe Steve is just uncomfortable after whatever stupid stuff came out of Billy’s mouth last night. “What, why?” Billy asks, posture stiff. He has been avoiding Steve as much as he can in hopes of avoiding something like this, he does not want Steve to change rooms. 

“Seriously?” Steve asks, sounding tired and exasperated.

“Seriously” Billy growls back defensively as he sits up sliding to the edge of the bed, letting the angry part of him out just a bit, it has always been his first line of defense. 

“You always call me when you’re drunk to come pick you up, even though you barely talk to me when you're sober anymore, you practically avoid me. It’s always when I’m trying to study or finish an assignment, I’m not like you. I can’t afford to go out all the time. I really, really have to be able to focus. But I still go and get you and then you distract me even more, always touching, in my space, making innuendos, and I am not going to sleep with someone who is only interested when they’re drunk, and I just can’t take it anymore.” Billy blinks, he did not realize he was that bad, did not realize how often he was getting drunk these days in an attempt to forget about his straight… Billy’s mind grinds to a halt as he tries to wrap his mind around the rest of Steve’s words. Steve grows more and more nervous with each passing minute, doing that cute lip biting thing, hand on the back of his neck as he looks down at the ground.

“You’re gay?” Billy finally asks with a lick of his lips, as a hope he never let himself feel sober blooms in his chest. 

“Bi actually, you’ve met my ex.” Steve huffs out, “and heard some of the stories” Steve mummers softly as he wraps his arms around his middle, and yeah, yeah of course, Billy is just struck a little dumb at the moment. 

Billy nods even though Steve is not looking at him, standing up and moving closer, not as close as he would like, not yet. “And you’d sleep with me if I wasn’t drunk?” Billy asks tongue out.

Steve huffs glancing up at Billy to send him a glare before cutting his eyes away again “I mean I also take issue with you being in the closet. Is that really all you got from this?”

“Not in the closet,” Billy huffs out with a little laugh “and I chose to focus on the important things.” Billy says sliding closer, fingertips grazing Steve’s elbows. “Only been drinking so much and avoiding you because I thought you were straight.”

“That is a dumb reason to be a dick.” Steve sounds offended, as he frowns at Billy, the crease between his eyes letting Billy know he is frustrated, the same crease he gets when he is studying and he gets confused. 

“Was trying not to hit on you pretty boy.” Billy spells it out for him.

It still takes a few seconds for Steve’s frown to shift to a hesitant bitten off smile. “Really?”

“Yeah, maybe we can start over now that I know you are not straight, let me buy you lunch to make up for being a shitty roommate, maybe I can convince you to reconsider.”

“Better be a good fucking lunch, you’ve been awful.” Steve says, his smile shifting away from nervous hesitance.

“Take you to that place on fifth you’re always drooling over with Nancy and Carol.” Billy offers, he has never been because it is generally more than he likes to pay for a meal, but he will cough up the cash to start his apology off right to Steve.

“Sounds good, I’ll get my coat.” Steve darts in close, catching the corner of Billy’s mouth with a kiss before moving away, cheeks pink and smile wide. Billy just gins and licks over his teeth as he turns to watch Steve grab his coat and get his shoes on. 

-

The next time Steve makes the trek to the frat house, it is because he got his paper done early and is meeting Billy. When he arrives Billy loudly proclaims him as his boyfriend with a mega phone to the entire party, Steve’s cheeks going a very unflattering shade of red when the crowd responds “ABOUT TIME!” a smile pulling at his lips as Billy grins down at him with his own flush from the table he is standing on. 

**-End**

**Author's Note:**

> https://ghostofjellyfishforgotten.tumblr.com/


End file.
